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Pothole season looms

Brian Rotoli of Brian's Alignments in Greece replaces a wheel bearing and tightens a control arm on a customer’s vehicle that hit a pothole on West Ridge Road near Dewey Avenue. Rotoli said the mix of salt, snow and potholes causes wheel bearings to fail.(Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Buy Photo

You tried to miss the pothole, you really did. But there was traffic to the right and traffic to the left and you had no choice but to bottom out in that hole in the road that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

But now you've got a shimmy in your steering wheel and your car feels like it wants nothing more than to break free of your control and veer to the left, right into oncoming cars.

Welcome to winter in Rochester.

As familiar to western New York in February as lake effect, wind chills and school closings, the plague of the pothole season looms.

"They are really starting to pop up now," said Norman Jones, Rochester's commissioner of environmental services. His workers are busy still trying to clean up from recent snows, but potholes are still a priority. "We've got crews out there every day, filling them in."

But the worst is yet to come, said Lori Maher, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

"The sustained cold temperatures have been helpful," she said.

If there's one bright spot to this month's brutal cold — the National Weather Service reports the temperature has climbed to 32 degrees here only two times since Feb. 1 — it's that the deep freeze is slowing the inevitable pop of potholes.

That's because potholes usually form when snow and ice melt and seep deep into cracks in the road surface. When that water freezes, it expands, forcing the pavement to buckle and break.

Without many freeze/thaw cycles, this year's crop of potholes just isn't growing very fast. Yet.

"That's certainly helped us with limiting the potholes," said Craig Eckert, Henrietta's commissioner of public works.

But things will certainly change in coming weeks as we head into spring and temperatures climb out of the icebox.

Random fact: so far this February, there have been nine days when the temperatures in Rochester have fallen below zero. The February record is 10 days below zero, set back in 1979.

When those potholes do pop up, it will pay off to try to avoid them if you can.

TRIP, a national transportation research group, estimates driving on deficient roads in the Rochester area costs motorists about $1,285 each every year in extra vehicle operating costs. That number includes not only road-related vehicle damage, but also lost fuel and time due to congestion delays and traffic crashes related to road conditions.

Nonetheless, potholes can cause serious vehicle damage. And mechanic Brian Rotoli, owner of Brian's Alignment in Greece, has likely seen it all.

"I get those calls all the time," he said. "People say 'my steering wheel is off,' or 'the car just doesn't drive the same' or that they can feel the car fighting with them now driving in the snow."

The best case scenario is perhaps just that the pothole whacked your car out of alignment, and it's a simple fix.

But, problems can be far more serious.

Rotoli said there's also the possibility of popped tires, bent rims, bent control arms, exhaust system damage, a bent frame and even engine damage.

"Those prices can range from around $79 for just an alignment to $500 or way up, depending," he said, adding that it's not entirely uncommon for people to end up submitting an insurance claim if the damage is significant enough.

According to Farmers Insurance, there are nearly a half-million insurance claims for pothole damage every year. Generally, damage or crashes caused by potholes are covered under traditional collision insurance, but it's a good idea to check with your agent to make sure, said Rotoli.

Rhett VanScoter, owner of VanScoter Insurance in Greece, said covered damages would have to be in excess of your insurance deductible.

"One caveat, though, is that that would be considered an at-fault claim and if the damage is more than $2,000 it could trigger a potential premium surcharge," he said. But, many companies waive that surcharge depending on customer longevity and accident history.

Some municipalities will also offer reimbursements for pothole-related damage. But there are strict criteria — if they do consider reimbursement, it must be for damage caused by a pothole that was previously reported to them and not repaired in a timely manner. And, state law disallows reimbursements for any pothole damage incurred on state-owned roads during winter months, only for damage sustained between May 1 and Nov. 15.

Eckert said the best way for area highway departments and road crews to know where the potholes are and get them fixed is for citizens to report them.

Jones agreed.

"If you see one, please, call it in," he said. "As they pop up, we will fix them."

Generally, potholes need to be reported to the agency that owns a particular road in order to facilitate repairs.

•To report potholes on roads referred to by route numbers (such as Route 104, Route 31, Route 259 or Route 441) as well as the expressways, Interstates 390, 490 and 590 and the Lake Ontario State Parkway, contact the state Department of Transportation at (800) 768-4653.